Here’s a challenge for you. Can you summarize your spiritual beliefs in 5-6 sentences?

When I first got involved in Yoga I became so intrigued with this question that I spent the next several years trying to answer it. Eventually my answers turned into my blog and eBook.

I went through a lot of twists and turns on my inner journey. Eventually I concluded that Yoga philosophy is sublimely simple, profound, and livable. Yet it can be difficult to grasp because of its unfamiliar language and complex history.

I became intrigued with whether it was possible to capture the essence of Yoga philosophy in plain English, without any specialized terminology or assumed prerequisite background knowledge. (Not that I have anything against these. I’m no scholar, but I have become pretty well-versed in the language and lore of the big three ancient texts of Yoga–the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the Yoga Sutra.)

Here’s what I came up with:

1) Each of us is already infinitely wondrous—miraculous, awe-inspiring, unfathomable. (This is well hidden beneath the distractions and emotions of everyday life.)

Comments

There is an all-intelligent force working on all of our behalf — humans, animals, plants, inanimate objects, etc. We are all interconnected and originate from this same all-intelligent force. We are born perfect, but as we grow our minds become clouded with imperfections as we forget the perfection from which we came. At some point, we reawaken to our innate perfection and that is when the almighty healing power of LOVE arrives fully on the scene. From then on, we dance with love – sometimes blindly, sometimes fully engaged, until love finally leads us "home" again.

We are all one, if I say something about someone I am saying it about me, there is no “them”, we are all “we”, therefore, the only way I can get anything I want is by giving it to others
Silence and meditation are the only way to growth, it is in the silence that we access our infinite potential

I wish I can be enlightened in this lifetime, I really would like not to have to come back (I know it is an attachment issue but a good one)

A good asana practice grounds me and leads me towards the other branches of yoga and towards meditation
Words are powerful VERY POWERFUL spells with a lot more power than we think, therefore, we must, MUST be conscious of every word we utter

"I have a loving and forgiving creator, the creator of all I see.
We are to love and care for each other,as he loves and cares for us.
The creator sees no color or race. He asks only for faith.
We all have the same goals, just different paths.

Yes, I loved this picture so much that I put in on the cover of my eBook ( http://YogaDemystified.com ). Elsewhere in the book is poem called "Coming to Terms With Infinite Joy" which ends with the words:

If you were a wave in the ocean

And someone asked you what you are

Would you answer

“I am a wave”

or would you answer

“I am the ocean”?

So when I found this perfect illustration of this idea, I was overjoyed.

This is not an original idea, of course, but I've adopted it because it's the best single metaphor I've found for the profound wisdom of the ancient Yoga texts–the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. I use many other metaphors in my eBook, but this is the simplest and most powerful, hence the cover!

Yes, I loved this picture so much that I put in on the cover of my eBook ( http://YogaDemystified.com ). Elsewhere in the book is poem called "Coming to Terms With Infinite Joy" which ends with the words:

If you were a wave in the ocean

And someone asked you what you are

Would you answer

“I am a wave”

or would you answer

“I am the ocean”?

So when I found this perfect illustration of this idea, I was overjoyed.

This is not an original idea, of course, but I've adopted it because it's the best single metaphor I've found for the profound wisdom of the ancient Yoga texts–the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. I use many other metaphors in my eBook, but this is the simplest and most powerful, hence the cover!

Yes, I loved this picture so much that I put in on the cover of my eBook ( http://YogaDemystified.com ). Elsewhere in the book is poem called "Coming to Terms With Infinite Joy" which ends with the words:

If you were a wave in the ocean

And someone asked you what you are

Would you answer

“I am a wave”

or would you answer

“I am the ocean”?

So when I found this perfect illustration of this idea, I was overjoyed.

This is not an original idea, of course, but I've adopted it because it's the best single metaphor I've found for the profound wisdom of the ancient Yoga texts–the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. I use many other metaphors in my eBook, but this is the simplest and most powerful, hence the cover!

Yes, I loved this picture so much that I put in on the cover of my eBook ( http://YogaDemystified.com ). Elsewhere in the book is poem called "Coming to Terms With Infinite Joy" which ends with the words:

If you were a wave in the ocean

And someone asked you what you are

Would you answer

“I am a wave”

or would you answer

“I am the ocean”?

So when I found this perfect illustration of this idea, I was overjoyed.

This is not an original idea, of course, but I've adopted it because it's the best single metaphor I've found for the profound wisdom of the ancient Yoga texts–the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. I use many other metaphors in my eBook, but this is the simplest and most powerful, hence the cover!

There's a wealth of wonderful stuff there, but the one thing that stood out was Kate saying that for her religion and theology used to be a complicated academic matter. The older she's gotten the simpler and simpler it's become, so at this point it all comes down to one simple sentence:

"God is Love"

Nothing else matters much to her now. For her, with all her gut-wrenching experiences counseling the grief-stricken, that says it all.

There's a wealth of wonderful stuff there, but the one thing that stood out was Kate saying that for her religion and theology used to be a complicated academic matter. The older she's gotten the simpler and simpler it's become, so at this point it all comes down to one simple sentence:

"God is Love"

Nothing else matters much to her now. For her, with all her gut-wrenching experiences counseling the grief-stricken, that says it all.

There's a wealth of wonderful stuff there, but the one thing that stood out was Kate saying that for her religion and theology used to be a complicated academic matter. The older she's gotten the simpler and simpler it's become, so at this point it all comes down to one simple sentence:

"God is Love"

Nothing else matters much to her now. For her, with all her gut-wrenching experiences counseling the grief-stricken, that says it all.

There's a wealth of wonderful stuff there, but the one thing that stood out was Kate saying that for her religion and theology used to be a complicated academic matter. The older she's gotten the simpler and simpler it's become, so at this point it all comes down to one simple sentence:

"God is Love"

Nothing else matters much to her now. For her, with all her gut-wrenching experiences counseling the grief-stricken, that says it all.

"There is an energy that surrounds all, unconditional love. We are all connected to this energy, but we can choose to let it in or not. All religions or spiritual paths can bring us to it. I use yoga and meditation as my route. We are all made of love and love is what makes us alive."

When I trust that all is well, I experience all as well, and Know that all is well, always.
Forgiveness frees me, I cannot be harmed.
An open heart heals all.
As other's have said, we are all One – innately connected, separated only in our minds.
All is divine, and the Divine truly is in All.

I have elaborated on all these point in my free eBook Yoga Demystified. On #4 in particular, see Mind, Body, and Spirit. All of the other chapters here are related to this concept, too. Take a look, then write back if you'd like to talk more about it.